I’m always grateful to be in touch with readers and fellow writers. You’re the reason I keep writing, and your feedback makes me a better writer. And I feel really sorry when I can’t reply to all your responses and DMs.

Although I’m neither a native English speaker nor a famous author, I like to support new writers as much as I can because I was once there myself, helpless without role models and access to writers' retreats.

So let me address some questions budding writers frequently ask me and what I have done until today.

Q1: How Did You Start Writing?

It was nothing more than a whim. I just wanted to practice my English, and writing on Medium seemed a great exercise. I had nothing to lose.

My first few articles had less than a few dozen views. I kept self-publishing short pieces because both my second language and writing skills needed a hell of a lot of training back then.

My one and only (so far) cold pitch to a publication was to Reader’s Digest Asia, which didn’t work, of course. But I was fortunate to be discovered by brilliant editors.

The editor of Age of Awareness,

Then I started submitting my pieces to major publications on Medium, writing for Mind Cafe, Be Yourself, Better Human, Better Marketing, Illumination, and a few others.

Popular publications helped me grow my readership quickly. I rolled into the Medium Partner Program and began earning a small amount of money within a couple of months.

Later,

Earnings don’t correlate with views on Medium, but it’s part of the charm and I like it here. Winning the trending chart allowed me to make only $6.93 with 9.97k views, but it’s a funny story itself, isn’t it? And to tell you the truth, my most high-paying article has been the one I self-published.

Q2: How Did You Become a Contributing Writer for The Japan Times?

Lucky for me, an editor of The Japan Times reached out to me on Twitter. He found the article below that I wrote on Medium and someone shared on Facebook.

A few days later, it turned into a bilingual section article both in print and digital. But as far as I know, it’s not common for Japan Times editors to reach out to writers.

There’s no doubt that being a native Japanese speaker is my strength as a writer. My Sailor Moon piece for Japonica also led to a museum report with Japanese web media, PARIS mag, thanks to another talented editor. Writing articles about English learning is my strength too.

Q3: Do You Write for Clients? Can You Write About Me for The Japan Times?

Unfortunately, no. I don’t write promotional articles. I’m currently working on my personal project, and I stopped doing translation gigs to secure my time.

But if you have a unique story to tell, don’t hesitate to write it! Please share it with me or write for Japonica Publication. (Refer to Q5 for how to submit your stories to our publication.)

Q4: How Did You Learn Writing Skills?

I have been a bookworm since childhood, and writing has been my passion. But I don’t dare to tell you I’m self-made.

In my case, it’s quite the opposite—everything is my teacher: Medium’s stats, readers’ feedback, the number of likes and RT on social media, fellow writers’ awesome writing, and even their mistakes. Abbie Emmons’ YouTube videos taught me how to use Scrivener. And I can’t thank my beta reader friend enough.

Just for your information, here are my favorite books about writing techniques:

• On Writing by Stephen King
• The Portable MFA in Creative writing by The New York Writers Workshop
• The Byline Bible by Susan Shapiro

Q5: Where Can I Start as a Writer? Can I Write for Japonica?

As a writer, I have always explored the unbeaten path, writing in a second language and avoiding popular platforms in Japan. That gave me an edge and opportunities to write for mainstream media.

So my advice would be…start small wherever you want, grow with fellow writers, and keep polishing your strengths. In other words, be you, regardless of the platform.

And if you’d like to write for Japonica Publication, we always welcome new writers! I’ll add you as a writer if you let me know your Medium username. Please read our guidelines before submitting, and keep your articles related to Japan.

Japonica is a small publication due to its specialized topic, but we closely review submitted articles and promote them on Twitter and LinkedIn.

It’s seriously one of the best places to start your writing career because most publications on Medium don’t educate writers. They usually either publish or decline without comments, but we always communicate with writers.

Writing is therapeutic. And it’s rewarding in so many ways. I wish you great success from bottom of my heart and look forward to reading your stories.

Please keep telling me your opinions on my articles. I can’t reply every time, but I always appreciate your feedback. Happy writing!

If you enjoyed this article, discover other works of the author at Japonica.

Follow Yuko for more stories about cross-cultural topics, travel, business, parenting, and equality. You can also subscribe from the referral link, which Medium uses a portion from followers for author support without any additional cost. Mediumの購読はこちらからどうぞ。